Racer X
Racer X is a Los Angeles-based heavy metal band that achieved their greatest fame in the late 1980s. Releasing their first album, Street Lethal, in 1986, the band rocketed onto the scene chiefly due to the lightning-speed guitar playing of Paul Gilbert, the band's primary creative force. Due to a lack of major label interest, the band broke up in 1988 shortly after Gilbert left to form Mr. Big. However, the band has resurfaced several times to release albums (most notably Technical Difficulties in 1999) and, rarely, play a live show. Origins Racer X was formed in Hollywood by Guitar Institute of Technology student Paul Gilbert. Gilbert, a young rock guitarist from rural Pennsylvania, was a highly skilled guitar player who started playing at age 8 and was influenced by rock giants such as Alex Lifeson, Pat Travers, Eddie Van Halen, and Frank Marino. After studying at GIT for several months and building his technique to a famously pristine level, he decided to start a heavy metal band and begin playing the Los Angeles club circuit. He recruited the bass talents of BIT student Juan Alderete and PIT student Harry Gschoesser. The band was named "Racer X" after the villain from the television show Speed Racer, of which Gilbert and Alderete were fans. The band began rehearsing and making demo tapes of their existing material (which included "Blowin' Up The Radio", "Y.R.O.", and "Street Lethal") and began sending it out to prospective singers. Gilbert and longtime friend/collaborator Mike Varney discovered Jeff Martin, a singer from Phoenix-based metal band Surgical Steel. Once Martin was hired, the first lineup of Racer X was complete. Gilbert had amassed a respectable stockade of material by that point and sent tapes of his compositions to Jeff Martin in Phoenix, who would write the vocal parts, tape them, and then send them back to Los Angeles. A great deal of the first album was written this way, and Martin brought over a song from Surgical Steel ("Hotter than Fire"). The band rehearsed in the P-1 rehearsal room at Musician's Institute. Paul and Juan recall waking up at 6AM to book the room, which would fill up quickly throughout the day. They also report that their rehearsals would attract an audience due to Paul's advanced playing. Street Lethal Main article: Street Lethal In late 1985, the band went in to Prairie Sun Studios in Cotati, California to record their first album on the Shrapnel Records label. In a 1987 clinic video, Gilbert says that the record only cost $9,000 to produce, a relatively low amount for the time. The first album, Street Lethal, was released on New Years' Day 1986 to the acclaim of guitar players and general audiences alike. The songwriting of the band was heavily inspired by such acts as Judas Priest and Van Halen; in fact, similar to the first Van Halen album, Street Lethal opens with an unaccompanied guitar solo entitled "Frenzy". Gilbert's guitar playing was singled out for praise, as his mastery of fast alternate picking, sweep picking, and tapping caught the attention of the guitar community. In fact, the cover art of the album highlights that it is by "Racer X with Paul Gilbert". Shortly after the release of Street Lethal, drummer Harry Gschoesser moved back to his native Austria. Drummer Scott Travis was asked to replace him, but was already committed to play in the band Hawk with Metal Method producer Doug Marks. Eventually, however, Racer X was able to secure Travis as their drummer. Paul Gilbert had graduated GIT by this point and been hired as an instructor. One of his students, 20-year old Bruce Bouillet, was invited into one of his open counseling sessions where he was demonstrating a difficult string skipping sequence to students. Bruce, on the spot, was able to play the part in harmony to the astonishment of both Gilbert and his audience. Gilbert handed him a copy of Street Lethal and invited him to jam with Racer X. Soon afterward, Bruce Bouillet was asked to join Racer X as its second guitarist. With Bouillet co-piloting the guitar duties in Racer X, the band added complex guitar harmonies to its existing songs when performed live. Additionally, Bouillet and Gilbert coordinated certain guitar stunts to perform during their live shows. During the solo to "Getaway", Bruce would fret the notes with his left hand on Paul's guitar while Paul picked them with his right hand. When the band covered "Detroit Rock City", the two would stand side-by-side and play the solo with their teeth. Paul also began using a Makita cordless drill with three picks attached to the bit to play tremolo-picked sequences. He was also famous for laying his guitar on the floor in front of him to play neoclassical tapping sequences. Second Heat Main article: Second Heat Writing began for the second album, tentatively titled "Motor Man", that same year. The band would perform these songs in front of audiences throughout the year. The second album was recorded in the winter of 1986 under the finalized title Second Heat, and was released in February of 1987. Second Heat showed an evolution in the Racer X sound, with Bouillet adding harmonized leads and dueling guitar solos. The album has several notable tracks; first, it includes a cover of an unreleased Judas Priest song entitled "Heart of a Lion". The song was given to Jeff Martin by Rob Halford, lead singer of Judas Priest and longtime friend of Jeff. Additionally, the album features the band's first ballad, entitled "Sunlit Nights", and a cover of David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream". The album's most famous track is the instrumental "Scarified", which was based on a drum line devised by Scott Travis during a rehearsal session. The success of Second Heat increased Racer X's renown and shot Bruce Bouillet into further fame as one of guitar's practicing musicians. The band continued to tour regionally in Los Angeles County, San Francisco, Oakland, and Phoenix (as well as a performance at the Chicago NAMM show). Breakup Racer X was already workshopping material for a third album while simultaneously trying to attract major label attention. They showcased for several labels, which refused to sign them for various reasons. Though some of the new material would never be recorded in a studio, some of it appears on the Extreme Volume albums, which were recorded from shows following the release of Second Heat. The first live album, Extreme Volume Live, contains "Set the World on Fire" and "She Wants Control", neither of which have been recorded in the studio to this date. Extreme Volume II Live (released in 1992), however, contains live versions of "Give It To Me" and "Poison Eyes", which were later recorded in 1999 for the Technical Difficulties album. In an interview with Bruce Bouillet, he states that the band was getting calls from clubs in Chicago, New York, Miami, and several other major cities requesting Racer X as a live act due to massive demand. However, he says, the band lacked the managerial acumen to secure these gigs in time.The Double Stop Podcast Episode 32 - Bruce Bouillet (Racer X, The Scream, Solo) (2015) Around this time, the members of the band were becoming skeptical about the survivability of a shred-based heavy metal band in the commercial landscape, perhaps none more than Paul Gilbert himself. Paul, a massive fan of 70's pop music, was growing tired of playing high-volume heavy metal music and sought to pursue a different path. Gilbert was then approached by Talas bassist Billy Sheehan with the prospect of forming Mr. Big with singer Eric Martin and drummer Pat Torpey. Without Gilbert, the band continued for a short time. Bruce Bouillet was temporarily the only guitar player in the band, but they added Bay Area guitarist Chris Arvan for a time to fill in for Gilbert. However, Arvan was dismissed after a short time and the remaining members disbanded after one final show at the Omni in Oakland, CA in 1988. Reason for breakup There are dissenting accounts regarding the catalyst for the band's breakup. In a 1988 Ibanez clinic immediately following the breakup, Bruce Bouillet and Juan Alderete were asked why the band was heading in a different direction (the project that would eventually crystallize as The Scream). The two answered that their failures to catch major label attention during showcases were because the label representatives all tended to dislike singer Jeff Martin. Thus, they say, they came to a conclusion that he should leave the band and that Bouillet, Alderete, and Travis should transition into a new project. On the matter, Alderete said, "Every label in L.A. passed on us. Everybody really disliked the singer, and so we decided to make the move, and Paul decided he didn't want to go through the grief of finding a new singer."Bruce Bouillet 1988 Ibanez Clinic However, in recent interviews, Bouillet has said that the band's breakup was ultimately due to their apparently plateauing success (a sentiment that is similarly echoed by Alderete and Gilbert). Reformations In the late 90s, Paul Gilbert had achieved worldwide success with Mr. Big and their #1 hit song "To Be With You". He had also embarked on a solo career with his debut solo album, King of Clubs, being released in 1998. However, he was chided by an Australian fan named "snakebyte", who sent him a strongly worded e-mail which criticized him for allegedly selling out and forgetting his heavy metal roots. Paul, famous for his good humor, was happy to speak with snakebyte and, following their phone conversation, was inspired to reform Racer X. After over a decade of silence, Racer X reunited in 1999 to record the album Technical Difficulties with all Second Heat-''era members returning with the solitary exception of Bruce Bouillet, who was suffering from severe carpal tunnel syndrome and had quit playing guitar at the time. The title track of the album, which is actually a re-recording of the song "Metal Dog" from Gilbert's instructional "Terrifying Guitar Trip", achieved great fame, and is possibly the most well-known Racer X song to date. Additionally, the album contains studio recordings of the aforementioned live songs in addition to unrecorded live song "Miss Mistreater". One of the songs, "Snakebite", pays homage to the user who sent Paul the famous e-mail. The string instruments on the album are tuned down to D Standard to accommodate Jeff Martin's vocal range. In 2000, the band released the album ''Superheroes, ''which was mixed by Bruce Bouillet. Once again, this album contains a re-recorded version of an old live song entitled "Mad At The World". The album also contains a cover of Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla". The band's most recent release is 2002's ''Getting Heavier, which was panned by both fans and critics and derided for resembling a Paul Gilbert solo album rather than a proper Racer X album. In 2009, Racer X reunited to play a set at the NAMM show in Los Angeles. Once again, Bouillet was absent from the band despite having recovered from his injury, but the show was welcomed by fans and is, to date, the last performance of Racer X. In 2016, Bouillet recorded a Racer X medley of songs from Second Heat and Extreme Volume Live. The same year, he appeared in an ArtistWorks Google Hangout alongside Paul Gilbert and talked about the future of the band, remarking that it's difficult to get the schedules to align, especially with Scott Travis' role as the drummer for Judas Priest. In 2017, Paul Gilbert began incorporating a Racer X medley of his own into his live shows. Sound Racer X is heavily inspired by British heavy metal band Judas Priest, and its sound during the 80's resembled a dialed-up Judas Priest with L.A. metal and shred influences. The two bands are intimately connected, as Racer X drummer Scott Travis was recruited by Judas Priest in 1989 and has served as their drummer ever since. In addition, Jeff Martin was close personal friends with fellow Phoenix native Rob Halford, longtime singer of Judas Priest. In a 1988 clinic, Paul Gilbert mentions to a student that his two favorite albums during the writing of Street Lethal ''were Accept's ''Restless and Wild ''and Japanese band LOUDNESS's ''Disillusion.Paul Gilbert Clinic, 12/06/1988 The classic Racer X sound, even before the addition of second guitarist Bruce Bouillet, involves fast-paced guitar harmonies layered over rapid alternate picking, sweeping, and string skipping sections. The minor 7th string skip shape was integral to the Racer X sound during Second Heat, and in fact appears on most of the lead passages on that album including the finale to "Scarified" and Paul's solo on "Moonage Daydream". On the duo's discovery of this arpeggio, Bruce Bouillet said, "We used that one shape to death, as you can see. This one shape, when we found it, was like the revolution for us. We were like... I remember sitting in the counseling when we were working with it one day and it was like, 'damn! That thing sounds fuckin'... that's the riff of the 80's right there!'"Bruce Bouillet Private Lesson 1991 Live shows Racer X's live shows were highly energetic and extravagant. In addition to the band's high-octane stage presence and rapid-fire songs, they incorporated several props into their concerts. In some shows, they would release 6' foam sharks into the audience and open with John Williams' theme from Jaws. There would sometimes be inflatable Godzilla statues onstage. Jeff Martin constructed a ladder onto his mic stand and reveal himself perched atop it as the curtain raised.The Double Stop Podcast Episode 95 - Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big, Racer X, Solo) (2016) Discography Studio Albums * Street Lethal (1986) * Second Heat (1987) * Technical Difficulties (1999) * Superheroes (2000) * Getting Heavier (2002) Live Albums * Extreme Volume Live (1988) * Extreme Volume II Live (1992) * Live at the Whisky: Snowball of Doom (2002) * Official Bootleg: Snowball of Doom 2 (2002) Videography * Live at the Whisky: Snowball of Doom (video) Tourography Trivia * Although Racer X is based in Los Angeles, all of its members are from other places with the sole exception of Juan Alderete. Paul is from Pennsylvania, Bruce is from Indiana, Scott is from Virginia, and Jeff is from Wisconsin/Arizona. Former drummer Harry Gschoesser is from Austria. * Racer X has only ever played in seven cities: Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Francisco, Oakland, Fresno, Phoenix, and Chicago. * Racer X vowed to never play in Phoenix again after an incident with a "cursed" rental van. The band rented the van on a fan's sister's credit card. The van was subsequently smashed into by a drunk driver. Then, the A/C got stuck blowing hot air. Finally, it blew a tire on the way back to L.A. and didn't have a spare. Since they'd signed a contract agreeing not to take the van out of California, their trip to Arizona would have voided the insurance. The credit card bill ended up being a mere $70."The Legend of the Cursed Rental Van", Racer X * Racer X was allegedly named by Bill Lescohier, a PIT student who auditioned for Paul and Juan before Harry Gschoesser was in the band. However, Alderete states in an interview that he and Paul named the band "Racer X" because the two were fans of the cartoon Speed Racer."Juan Alderete Talks About His Music Career", Speedgig, Harry Gschoesser (2014) * The last Racer X album was released in 2002, the same year as Lilo and Stitch and the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man film. * The first Racer X album debuted in 1986, the same year as The Oprah Winfrey Show References